May 2005

Stars on point

For the second time, Prague’s National Theatre will host Czech and international ballet stars in a performance called “Ballet Gala”. The aim of the performance is to introduce to the audience the personalities of Czech ballet that are engaged not only in the Czech Republic, but also in prestigeous companies around the world. In addition to these dancers, the show will feature several prominent foreign guests from the Stuttgart Balett, Bayerisches Staatsballett München, and the English National Ballet, among others. The audience will have a unique chance to see extracts from an international ballet repertoire. During the evening, the prestigious Philip Morris Ballet Flower Award for 2004 will be presented to the best Czech ballet dancer.

Traditionally the Prague’s Psychiatric clinic in Bohnice fills up with music and theater fans on the last weekend of May. During the two days of the 14th annual festival “Mezi ploty”, which remains a unique cultural event, a large number of musicians and theater assemblies will perform on several stages. Space will also be given to visual art and other artistic forms, which visitors are encourage to try. As every year, all of the performing artists will donate their royalties to the benefit of the clinic. Along with professional and amateur artists, assemblies of handicapped artists will demonstrate for the public the results of their artistic endeavors.

Dramatic situations described in Kafka’s Diaries or in the memoirs of his biographer, extracts from the love letters to Felice or Milena, and other less known works of Franz Kafka inspired four authors of Sklep Theater. Monika Načeva, Jan Slovák, David Vávra, and Lenka Vychodilová prepared an original and absurd grotesque, enriched by exceptional songs and a hard-to-describe mix of sounds. The performance aims to illustrate Kafka’s thinking in a less typical way – as a funny, ironic piece of art rather than a product of an existential author. Although all four artists are connected to Sklep Theater, their play will be shown in Archa Theater at Na Poříčí.